Exit Strategy or Escape Route

I went on a hike up in the mountains, (no, not that one, Hanging Lake, another one) and as I proceeded along the trail, my friend and I encountered two women watching something that was making a very strange noise. Turns out it was a baby bear about 30 feet away that was stuck in a tree. Eventually it made it way down, and fortunately we did not encounter a protective mamma bear.

I was fairly preoccupied and didn’t think too much about it, until we reached our destination and were heading back down the trail, when I asked my friend, “Do you know what to do if we encounter a bear?” (I did not!) It turns out, neither did she. We cautiously returned to the car, and of course promptly googled what to do if you encounter a bear! It made me remember that whether you are meeting a bear, or running a business, you need an exit strategy or escape route.